Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
How nice of Palm the nice corporation...
Palm: Pre, webOS & app discussion
- Thread starter Kid_Eternity
- Start date
editor
hiraethified
Sorry to spoil your glee, but it can be turned off.
"You go to "Location Services" on the Pre you can turn off background collection no matter what you picked the first time you turned on the phone.
I leave everything turned off - GPS, Background Data Collection, Auto Locate, everything. And it doesn't effect programs that use GPS at all! The program will ask you whether or not you want to turn GPS on."
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/12/pre-phones-home-with-your-location-which-explains-the-black-hel/
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Engadget said:
It looks like Palm are listening to customers. Maybe not so bad for those waiting for a UK release.
A lot of rumours are circulating about Palm's financial health after analysts begin to cut their predictions following disappointing sales figures. Brutally put, initial sales haven't met up to expectations, the network hasn't gained the customers it'd like and the handset's seemingly failing to dent (in particular) customer loyalty to Apple and Blackberry. Even the Blackberry Storm, of all blinking handsets, seems to have produced a more obvious upturn for its carrier.With new Android handsets on the way it's looking potentially grim for Palm, with analysts quick to point out future funding difficulties.
More detail here:
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0120016HEP8O&page=1
More of the same elsewhere and suddenly a lot of the positivity over the platform is beginning to disipate. It's going to be a much more difficult path for Palm than expected by the looks of it, one that I'm not convinced it'll survive.
More detail here:
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0120016HEP8O&page=1
More of the same elsewhere and suddenly a lot of the positivity over the platform is beginning to disipate. It's going to be a much more difficult path for Palm than expected by the looks of it, one that I'm not convinced it'll survive.
grit
an ugly force for good
They have been in the shit for a long time, the share price is about 15 dollars which is a joke. The Pre is really their do or die move.
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
Their problem was they released it a bit late. If Apple hadn't entered the phone market, we would all be falling over for this phone because its a great phone. The UI would be revolutionary.
But now the world and its dog has release a touch screen phone. People who would have bought it, like me for instance, are locked into iPhones. I evangelise it to others. They buy the phone.
The king for consumers is Apple with its UI. King for business is the RIM with its keyboard. Android is starting to gather pace due to the number of phones manufacturers are releasing.
However Palm are viewed in the US or here, they are a bit late to market and are going to have to work damn hard to get the acceptance they require. Their biggest fail is not making it reasonably priced contract free and locking it to any one carrier. Huge failure as far as I can see. I might have bought one, but I'm not going to get locked into another long contract for anything other than a new iPhone and I don't mean the GS.
But now the world and its dog has release a touch screen phone. People who would have bought it, like me for instance, are locked into iPhones. I evangelise it to others. They buy the phone.
The king for consumers is Apple with its UI. King for business is the RIM with its keyboard. Android is starting to gather pace due to the number of phones manufacturers are releasing.
However Palm are viewed in the US or here, they are a bit late to market and are going to have to work damn hard to get the acceptance they require. Their biggest fail is not making it reasonably priced contract free and locking it to any one carrier. Huge failure as far as I can see. I might have bought one, but I'm not going to get locked into another long contract for anything other than a new iPhone and I don't mean the GS.
grit
an ugly force for good
Disappointing sales in US = better deals in the UK
Eh no.
editor
hiraethified
None of the analysts have the slightest clue about the actual sales figures, and some are painting a very different picture to your doom'n'gloom scenario:
grit
an ugly force for good
While their share price drops 5% to 13.29!
Whilst it's always tempting to take analyst reports with a pinch of salt, there's a head of steam building up that's affecting Palm's share price and negotiating position. From a quick Google:
Either way, the bullish stance of one of Palm's investors is looking a long way from reality now and momentum's being lost:
Either way, the bullish stance of one of Palm's investors is looking a long way from reality now and momentum's being lost:
Add to that, there's no reason for Palm to keep mum after being so cocky. Particularly when the massive success of the Apple iphone in the last quarter is drawing media attention:
More here on the Telegraph blogs
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/andrewkeen/100002376/is-apple-taking-palm-to-the-smartphone-cleaners/
More here on the Telegraph blogs
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/andrewkeen/100002376/is-apple-taking-palm-to-the-smartphone-cleaners/
editor
hiraethified
What a bizarre article. No one in their right mind expected the Pre to be outselling the iPhone at this ridiculously early stage.
The Pre is a brand new handset running a brand new operating system. There's only one phone available, it hasn't been offered for sale anywhere else in the world but the US, (and then only on one, lower ranked network), and with Palm being something like 25 times smaller than Apple they haven't a hope in hell of matching their advertising reach.
They have, however, created a very exciting new OS with huge potential and the phone has picked up a phenomenal buzz, so it's plain weird to write them off at such an early stage.
As a comment on that (nearly a month old) article rightly points out:
It's not just one article though, is it?
From Businessweek:
I'd agree that it's too early to count Palm out entirely. But the promotional silence hardly bodes well for a company so bullish before. Palm needs momentum, particularly with new Android phones on the horizon, and it's not achieving that to the degree I would have expected. So much depends on rapid growth and success:
From Businessweek:
I'd agree that it's too early to count Palm out entirely. But the promotional silence hardly bodes well for a company so bullish before. Palm needs momentum, particularly with new Android phones on the horizon, and it's not achieving that to the degree I would have expected. So much depends on rapid growth and success:
www.electronista.com
editor
hiraethified
All I'm seeing is a bunch of rumours, 'maybes' and some fairly wild speculation there. The Eos phone hasn't even been officially announced and seeing as no one had a clue about the Pre until its official announcement, I'll take that blog comment with a ton of scepticism.
This article you linked to on the electronista site certainly caught my eye and - if true - may prove to have an impact on network provider's choice of handsets/partners in the future:
Edit to add- here's a more credible take on the supposed 'delay' to the Eos:
This article you linked to on the electronista site certainly caught my eye and - if true - may prove to have an impact on network provider's choice of handsets/partners in the future:
Edit to add- here's a more credible take on the supposed 'delay' to the Eos:
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Another day another person I know has a blackberry, virtualy everyone I know has a BB or iPhone now. Palm seriously have their work cut out for them, in fact I wouldn't be surprised at this point if the Pre flops in the UK...
grit
an ugly force for good
They didnt have the huge burst of opening sales they hoped for, and there is a load riding on this. What the share price says is that the industry doesn't think it has it in it.
ETA: The problem for palm is that having a good feature set at a good price is not enough, it needs to break through the now dominated market.
That of course can be wrong, the fact that things are vague is what would put me on the defensive. If things were good they would be shouting it from the rooftops.
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
I'd be interested in getting a Pre but 6 months to go on the ol' contract. I'm not signing another monster 18 month contract for the Pre.
They should have gone for serious cheap with the good UI and keyboard off contract. Seriously undercutting the iPhone I would have been very interested in it when my contract ran out, but they have gone the single carrier Apple route.
I can only think they had $$$ in their eyes when doing this, rather than looking at the bottom line.
The Pre was announced at the beginning of the year. Its August now and the GSM version, the version that can make them real money still isn't here. Launching the EVDO phone 1st isn't one of Palm's greatest decisions. The more I look at that decision, the more I'm baffled. The could have sold it to a bigger US operator and also to the rest of the English speaking world.
They should have gone for serious cheap with the good UI and keyboard off contract. Seriously undercutting the iPhone I would have been very interested in it when my contract ran out, but they have gone the single carrier Apple route.
I can only think they had $$$ in their eyes when doing this, rather than looking at the bottom line.
The Pre was announced at the beginning of the year. Its August now and the GSM version, the version that can make them real money still isn't here. Launching the EVDO phone 1st isn't one of Palm's greatest decisions. The more I look at that decision, the more I'm baffled. The could have sold it to a bigger US operator and also to the rest of the English speaking world.
grit
an ugly force for good
editor
hiraethified
I don't think the UK market has ever been a particular big concern for Palm - even when they were dominating the smartphone market with the massively successful Treo, they remained comparatively rare phones over here.
As for the Pre "flopping" or not, it seems a ridiculously premature to be posting such negative opinions before the thing has even got a firm UK release confirmation, let alone a release date.
Unless you know something I don't, neither the sales figures or Palm's target numbers have been released.
I don't think the share price is much of an indicator at the moment seeing as it's responding to speculation and they've been going up and down for months (but still remain in rude health compared to last year).
Sunray
Its sunny somewhere.
They need cash NOW!
Yeah true so where does the EVDO decision come into that?
GSM = Everybody
EVDO = Nobody
It stands to reason the engineering department could have turned out a GSM phone in the same time as the EVDO version? That can't even do data and phone at the same time!
'You know that restaurant I was talking about, um forgotten its name, hang on I'm going to have to call you back to look it up'
Crazy decision.
grit
an ugly force for good
Simple they are broke and couldn't afford to do it, so they correctly targeted the market where they have the most brand awareness.
editor
hiraethified
Exactly. They must have spent an absolute fortune developing the new webOS and the Pre, so it makes sense to use their limited resources releasing the handset in a market where they are still a fairly respected brand.
Don't forget, Palm are really quite tiny compared to most of the other big players like Nokia, Apple, Blackberry etc.
grit
an ugly force for good
Thats why I think they are probably going to be taken over by someone like Nokia. It makes sense the Symbian s60 ecosystem that a lot of the higher end nokia's are in is... shit compared to what apple and to a lesser extend RIM have done.
Your right the exact numbers have not been released, but a lot of people are losing their confidence because the share price drive when due to the hype of the pre, its now in the market and doesn't appear to be the runaway success they need.
They needed people queuing up in the street, and it did not happen on the scale that was required, and this is in their strongest market.
The fight is not over yet, but its not a great start.
editor
hiraethified
To be fair, at no point did Palm (or Sprint) even suggest that they were expecting masses of people queuing in the street.
I really wouldn't pay much attention to the share price either - it's been going up and down all over the place in recent months, usually fuelled by groundless speculation.
They have been linked with several takeover rumours. I thought Dell made the most sense, but Palm doesn't seem too keen on the idea as far as I can see.
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